Eliza Jane Gillet Bridgman and George Blakeman.
DERBY – The City of Derby has announced the selection of the 18th class for the Derby Hall of Fame. This year’s class of two chosen by the Hall of Fame Committee brings the number of Hall members to 66. The announcement comes in time for Derby to celebrate its official 349th birthday on May 13.
The two members of this year’s class include one member who had a century long record of achievement in the city itself and a second who made her mark internationally as a missionary and educator in China.
Eliza Jane Gillet Bridgman (1805 – 1871) was the daughter of a Derby businessman who grew up wanting to make her mark in education while quietly wishing to do so as a missionary. She first achieved success as a teacher and school principal before embarking for China where she was one of only three unmarried women to obtain a missionary appointment. She soon married Dr. Reverend Elijah Coleman Bridgman (1801 – 1861), the first American missionary in China, on June 28, 1845. They adopted two children and moved to Shanghai to begin their work together.
After her husband died, her health failed and she returned to the U.S. for a short time and returned to Peking in 1864 and opened the Bridgman Girls’ College in Peking in 1864. The college became the Women’s College of Yenching University where a large number of female Chinese leaders were and are still educated.
Her writings include Daughters of China (1853) and The Life and Labors of Elijah Coleman Bridgman (1864).
She died on November 10, 1871, and was buried alongside her husband in Shantung Road Cemetery in Shanghai.
George Blakeman (1799 – 1899) may have been one of the most popular citizens in Derby history. Blakeman was a shoemaker, merchant, investor, businessman and politician, and was a prominent fixture for a century in East Derby.
He was an incorporator of the Derby Savings Bank, on the Board of Officers of the Manufacturers Bank, Secretary and Treasurer of the Shelton Tack Company, member of the Connecticut State Legislature and local selectman.
He owned a grocery and dry goods business in East Derby and by 1893 was the oldest member of the King Hiram Lodge No. 12 of Derby (Order of Masons). He built the residence that would later become the Sawyer Mansion.
When Mr. Blakeman reached his 100th birthday on October 10, 1899, the town had a massive celebration which was detailed only a few months later in an obituary published in the New York Times. The Times noted that at the time of his death, he was the oldest man in Connecticut. His 100th birthday celebration was celebrated throughout the town with factory, locomotive and steamboat whistles blowing for five full minutes and noon with appropriate bunting displayed throughout the town.
That evening a mass meeting was held at the Sterling Opera House as the Masons of which he was the oldest member paraded around town. Several factories closed for the day and enormous birthday cakes were donated by area businesses for the festivities at the Opera House.
The Derby Hall of Fame was established in 2007 and includes Derby natives and residents who have helped to shape the course of history through their achievements at the local, state, national or international level. Each of these individuals selected was either born in Derby or lived or worked here at some point in his/her life.
The Derby Hall of Fame is located by the National Humane Alliance Fountain at the Division Street entrance to the Derby Greenway. Each of the members is commemorated with a special brick surrounding the fountain engraved with some details of their achievements. A more complete description of their achievements along with the listing of all the members can be found at http://electronicvalley.org/derby/HallofFame/index.htm.
